When I first started working as a vendor in the property management space, I was with a startup company. We had a novel concept that made a ton of sense for the industry. It tackled a problem for PMs that was near universal and provided a solution that seemed too good to be true. We experienced massive growth year over year. 

But early on, we weren’t out there marketing our service all over the internet. We relied on a strategy of entrenching ourselves in the industry through trade shows, industry events and association meetings. We cold called and cold emailed our prospects across the country when we had the time. When we reached out to someone, in many cases they had no idea who we were. Our service was unheard of for these people, the first of its kind. Despite our company and service being unknown, people took our calls and even signed up to work with us! How could that be? The answer is that we were able to help people see the problem they were facing and provide a solution tailored to their unique needs. They were so impressed we took the time to research and reach out. 

How does this apply to property management companies looking to go out and find new landlord clients? Let’s start by putting ourselves in the shoes of a landlord who is self-managing or unhappy with their current management provider. What are their goals? What are the pain points they face? What are the challenges that they’ve just accepted because they believe there simply isn’t another way? 

Let’s consider some of those answers. Owning rental property is passive income for them. They likely have a full-time job and family that commands their attention (or at least they’d like to). They’ve likely had to take a maintenance call at an inconvenient time. No doubt they’ve had to deal with the challenge of quickly finding quality tenants. Maybe they’ve even had to deal with an eviction before. Simply put these are pain points. The great news is that you have solutions.  

When it comes to cold outreach, there is obviously a hurdle to make in first contact. But I’d argue the reason many fail is because they have the wrong mindset. They’re calling a prospect to pitch a solution, a solution which the prospect isn’t actively aware they even need. So, let's turn the tables for a second. 

If you know me, you know I love golf. Let’s say a golf coach was to call me and say “Ben, I’m a great golf coach and I charge $100 an hour for lessons. Are you interested?”. What do we notice about that? The message isn’t tailored to me. It’s broad, it doesn’t address the problem I’m having.  

Here’s another way; “Ben, a lot of the golfers I coach really struggled with their putting. Over the course of a few lessons, I’ve been able to help golfers like yourself reduce their handicap by 4-7 strokes by implementing a couple easy drills to help with putting consistency.” What was different? A problem was identified straight away, a pretty common problem for a lot of people by the way. There was also a solution given, with an actionable result. It was specific and compelling for my situation. 

Let’s bring it home. A lot of people shy away from cold outreach because they think it won’t work or they’re scared. The reality is that like anything else, you have to have the right approach. I would encourage you to start with this question: What are the challenges that my ideal client faces, and how am I uniquely positioned to help them? If you can’t answer that question clearly, then you are correct that cold outreach will not work for you. If your answer to that question doesn’t fire you up to go out and tell the world, you should be scared!

However, if you can answer that question, and that answer has you excited to go help as many people as possible, I have great news for you. There is a big blue ocean out there full of fish, and even a few whales. The average property management company isn’t hunting in those waters yet. They’re waiting for the fish that are on the coastline nibbling on bait and hoping one bites the hook.

Go find your whale.

Author: Ben Smith from Rescover

Rescover provides property management professionals a searchable database of portfolio owners by territory, portfolio size and type. Find your ideal clients and grow your business with Rescover. Reach Ben at [email protected]